Today’s word of the day is 话 (huà) which means ‘words’. Let’s practice by making different words, phrases, and sentences with 话 (huà).
脏话 (zāng huà) Curse words
The first word is 脏话 (zāng huà) which means curse words. Let’s look at each character of this word, 脏 means dirty, and 话 means words. A way of using it in a sentence is: 为什么学语言总是从脏话开始？ (Wèishénme xué yǔyán zǒng shì cóng zānghuà kāishǐ?) Why does language learning always start with curse words? I bet our listeners out there must have heard or learned some curse words during their Chinese language learning journey.
童话 (tóng huà) Fairytale
Another word we can create with 话 (huà) is 童话 (tóng huà). This is a noun that means fairytale. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 童 means child and 话means words, so it literally refers to words for a child. A way of using it in a sentence is 他们的爱情故事听起来像童话。(Tāmen de àiqíng gùshì tīng qǐlái xiàng tónghuà.) Their love story sounds like a fairytale.
空话 (kōng huà) Empty words
Finally we can create the word 空话 (kōng huà) which means empty words. The 空here means empty. A way of using it in a sentence is 他许诺的都是空话。(Tā xǔnuò de dōu shì kōnghuà.) All her promises were empty words.